Is my CPU a bottle neck?

[MonkeyWrench4000]

I just learned that because I am at 533FSB with the CPU, that 2700 is the limit, (if i had a 800fsb cpu, then i could use pc3200 speed)

Can i get two sticks of 512mb pc3200 (running at pc2700) to run dual channel pc2700?

I heard that i cannot do it with my 3 stick setup.

 

[Concillian]

I'm not totally familiar with Intel systems and dual channel.

My AthlonXP system WOULD work in dual channel with 2x1 sided (typically 8 chips on one side) 256MB modules in one channel and 1x2 sided (typically 16 chips, 8 on each side) 512MB module in the other channel.

I also know that S939 A64 boards do not support 3 DIMMS at all.

Since it's likely that you have 4 memory slots and two belong to one memory controller and two to the other, if you're running you're probably running dual channel, unless it's a BIOS option.

If you can you want the 256 meg DIMMS in one channel and the 512 MB in the other so you are running balanced. Using SiSoft Sandra is one way to determine if you are running single channel or dual channel.

Put one 256MB DIMM in, then check memory bandwidth with Sandra. Then put the other 256 MB DIMM in the other channel and check bandwidth. Then set back to your original configuration and see which it matches up with. It should be very close to one of the two.

Your manual should tell you which slots belong to which channel. If you don't have your manual, check the mobo manufacturer's site, they usually have .pdf downloads of the manual.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Step one is to turn off AA/AF and see if the bad bits improve significantly.

Your CPU could be the bottleneck, but overall you've got a pretty balanced setup.

Rather than upgrade the processor for that board, I would think about a newer P4 or A64 setup. 3.06 P4s are pricey, exactly because they are the fastest thing available to users with your generation of motherboard. I way overpaid for a 1ghz P3 a few years ago, for the same reason; if I'd been smarter about it, I could have had a faster duron or AXP setup for less than I spent on the P3.

You don't seem like a frequent upgrader - A 3.xghz prescott, or preferably an A64 motherboard and CPU will serve you a lot longer than an overpriced 3.06P4, even if your motherboard does support hyperthreading, which isn't a certainty.

 

[OvErHeAtInG]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Step one is to turn off AA/AF and see if the bad bits improve significantly.

Your CPU could be the bottleneck, but overall you've got a pretty balanced setup.

Rather than upgrade the processor for that board, I would think about a newer P4 or A64 setup. 3.06 P4s are pricey, exactly because they are the fastest thing available to users with your generation of motherboard. I way overpaid for a 1ghz P3 a few years ago, for the same reason; if I'd been smarter about it, I could have had a faster duron or AXP setup for less than I spent on the P3.

You don't seem like a frequent upgrader - A 3.xghz prescott, or preferably an A64 motherboard and CPU will serve you a lot longer than an overpriced 3.06P4, even if your motherboard does support hyperthreading, which isn't a certainty.

Agree, but step one is to identify what's causing the performance problem. Actually, Monkeywrench, you want to verify if you mobo even IS dual-channel capable, which is unlikely if you built the system when the 2.4b was current. Dual-channel would help your situation.

It also sounds like your mobo's not letting you overclock. If you are willing to o/c, I would say just upgrade the mobo to something that is (a) dual-channel capable and (b) overclocking-friendly. You could probably get someone to sell you theirs for not too much, or get a deal on a new one. With the 2.4b, when you increase the FSB from 533 to 600, that puts you at 2.8, and then pc2700 dual-channel would provide more than enough memory bandwidth.

If you're not willing to overclock, make sure you know what's causing the problem before buying stuff, because your framerates are abnormally low for your system... again, what settigns are you running the game at?

I thought i heard somewhere that you have to put two matching sticks in a certain two spots to run them dual, or is that totally wrong?

actually that's pretty accurate.

I just learned that because I am at 533FSB with the CPU, that 2700 is the limit, (if i had a 800fsb cpu, then i could use pc3200 speed)

That's not exactly correct, it all depends on what your motherboard's capable of. I have a 533-seies CPU o/c'd to 600fsb, and run my memory at 400mhz (pc3200) with a pc2700 controller. That's because I built my PC before PC3200 existed.

Can i get two sticks of 512mb pc3200 (running at pc2700) to run dual channel pc2700?

Yeah, sure. Although it would make more sense to just get ONE stick of PC3200 to match your existing stick, and run them in dual-channel.

If your motherboard actually supports dual-channel, keep it and do that.

 

[hans030390]

i don't think it is memory bottle neck...like i said, i have seen a celeron 2ghz with single channel pc2100 ram (7xxmb) run half life 2 at alot better
framerate that you. and they were using a 6600gt (more powerful than 9800). then again, it is 128bit, as opposed to 9800 265bit...i dunno if that would cause it...but even a 9600se in that crappy computer i saw didn't seem to be so extreme like your problem.

I think there is something much deeper than upgrading to something faster...but then again, maybe if you upgrade, it will fix it (meaning you could have a damaged part now...?)

 

[Pete]

AF lowers my framerate pretty noticably in Anand's canals HL2 demo with a 9800P and an XP2400+/PC2100. I would turn off AF and AA completely, and if your framerate still dips to 12fps, then your CPU is to blame. You should be able to get by with 2xAA and 4xAF, but HQ textures seem to take up a lot of memory in HL2, so consider dropping them to medium quality to reduce the number of framerate dips.

 

[jonks]

Here's .02 from someone with nearly the same system config as you. I have a p4 @ 2.6 and had a radeon9700. HL2/D3 were just about playable with medium graphic quality settings at 1024x768 with no AA/AF (say about avg 40fps). I then grabbed a BFG 6800GT. I now play at the highest graphics settings at 1280x1024 with 4xAA/8xAF, or alternatively, 1600x1200 with no AA/8xAF. Our cpus are only 200mhz apart so I would think you'd see similar gains with just that vid card upgrade.

I managed to get the card brand new for only $300 on craigslist, but if you have to spend much more than that ya might as well scrap it all and get a new system instead of replacing every freakin component.

 

[snarl]

Maybe marginally but i think your CPU should do pretty well with a 9800 Pro, what settings do you run at ? my backup machine is a P4 2.8Ghz @533 on a MSI Board with the 865 Intel Chipset, 1024 MB PC 3200 DC SDRAM (Runs at 2700 Speed due to FSB) and HL2 runs awesome, never really saw it go below 45 at least not that I have ever noticed. I think something else is repoonsible, either that or your running with very high settings.